Editing Dragonpit

[[Image:Kings landing map.png|400px|thumb|1 [[Rosby road]], 2 [[Dragon Gate]], 3 [[Iron Gate]], '''4 Dragonpit''', 5 [[Shae's manse]], 6 [[Chataya's brothel]], 7 [[Old Gate]], 8 [[Flea Bottom]], 9 [[Red Keep]], 10 [[Street of the Sisters]], 11 [[Gate of the Gods]], 12 [[Cobbler's Square]], 13 [[Guildhall of the Alchemists]], 14 [[Hook]], 15 [[Great Sept of Baelor]], 16 [[Muddy Way]], 17 [[Fishmonger's Square]], 18 [[River Gate]], 19 [[shop of Tobho Mott|Tobho Mott's shop]], 20 [[Street of Steel]], 21 [[harbor of King's Landing|harbor]], 22 [[Lion Gate]], 23 [[River Row]], 24 [[fish market]], 25 [[tourney grounds (King's Landing)|tourney grounds]], 26 [[King's Gate]], 27 [[kingsroad]]]]
The '''Dragonpit''' is a huge, cavernous building that sits atop the [[Hill of Rhaenys]] in [[King's Landing]]. Once a home for the royal [[dragon]]s of [[House Targaryen]],{{ref|ASOS|8}} it has been abandoned for a century and a half{{ref|ACOK|49}} and now lies in ruins.{{ref|AGOT|18}} It is believed that the confines of the Dragonpit restricted the growth of dragons kept within.{{ref|ASOS|8}}{{ref|ADWD|68}} It is one of the largest buildings in the city.{{ref|AFFC|6}}

==Layout==
:''See also: [[:Category:Images_of_the_Dragonpit|Images of the Dragonpit]]''
The Dragonpit is a huge domed [[castle]]{{ref|ASOS|8}} at the crown of [[Rhaenys's Hill]].{{Ref|FAB|Birth, Death, and Betrayal Under King Jaehaerys I}} The main gate consisted of massive doors, mainly [[bronze]] with some [[iron]],{{Ref|FAB|Birth, Death, and Betrayal Under King Jaehaerys I}}{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Blacks and the Greens}}{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown}} and were so wide that thirty [[knight]]s could ride through it at once.{{Ref|ASOS|8}} A score of lesser entrances were also present, some of them were [[oak]]-and-iron doors.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown}} The building's walls were thick and the roof strong.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Blacks and the Greens}}

A huge dome was constructed above the pit.{{Ref|FAB|The Year of the Three Brides - 49 AC}} Benches were located in the pit itself, which can seat eighty thousand.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Blacks and the Greens}}

Within the structure, long brick-lined tunnels have been dug deep into the hillside, fashioned like caves, five times as large as the dragon's lairs on [[Dragonstone (island)|Dragonstone]].{{Ref|FAB|Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies}} Beneath the dome, there were forty huge undervaults which had been carved in a great ring. These man-made caves were closed off at both sides by thick iron doors. The inner doors opened on the sands of the pit itself, and the outer doors opened to the hillside.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}}

When living dragons still nested beneath the dome, light would shine through the windows at night.{{Ref|TSS}}

During the [[Storming of the Dragonpit]] during the [[Dance of the Dragons]], the Dragonpit was destroyed. The huge dome is now broken,{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown}} the building ruined, the pit's walls blackened by fire.{{Ref|AGOT|18}}{{Ref|AGOT|67}} The pit has been abandoned for a century and a half,{{Ref|ACOK|49}} and its huge doors have been sealed for a century.{{Ref|AGOT|18}}

==History==
===Construction===
[[File:Rhaenys's hill.jpg|thumb|400px|The Dragonpit atop [[Rhaenys's hill]], by Franz Miklis © Fantasy Flight Games]]
In {{Date|42}}, during the early phase of the [[Faith Militant uprising]], King [[Maegor I Targaryen]] used the [[dragonflame]] of [[Balerion]] in the [[burning of the Sept of Remembrance]] on the top of [[Rhaenys's Hill]]. Three years later, shortly after the completion of the [[Red Keep]]'s construction, Maegor ordered the construction of the Dragonpit, which he called "a great stone stable for [[dragon]]s".{{Ref|FAB|The Sons of the Dragon}} Because Maegor had killed all those who had built the Red Keep to hide its secrets, many of those hired to construct the building fled. Maegor eventually had to use city prisoners, with supervisors from [[Myr]] and [[Volantis]].{{ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}{{Ref|FAB|The Sons of the Dragon}}

Construction of the Dragonpit continued during the reign of Maegor's successor, King [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen]], initially led by Jaehaerys's [[Hand of the King]], Lord [[Rogar Baratheon]] of [[Storm's End]]. In {{Date|49}}, Rogar [[Golden Wedding|married]] the [[Regent|Queen Regent]], [[Alyssa Velaryon]], in the Dragonpit, witnessed by forty thousand people.{{ref|FAB|The Year of the Three Brides - 49 AC}} Rogar wished to complete the Dragonpit before Jaehaerys came [[age of majority|of age]] and would start to rule on his own, but found himself lacking the proper funds to continue construction by {{Date|50}}.{{Ref|FAB|A Surfeit of Rulers}} After Jaehaerys assumed rule on his own, his newly-appointed [[master of coin]], [[Rego Draz]], secured funds by loaning gold from the banks of [[Iron Bank of Braavos|Braavos]], [[Tyrosh]] and [[Myr]].{{Ref|FAB|A Time of Testing - The Realm Remade}} By {{Date|52}}, King Jaehaerys would often visit the Dragonpit to keep an eye on the progress of its construction.{{Ref|FAB|Birth, Death, and Betrayal Under King Jaehaerys I}} Eventually, due to all of the taxes imposed by the master of coin to pay for the Dragonpit's completion and the other improvements on King's Landing, Rego's popularity plummeted significantly.{{Ref|FAB|Birth, Death, and Betrayal Under King Jaehaerys I}}

Construction on the pit was finally completed in {{Date|55}} and [[Tourney for the completion of the Dragonpit|a great tourney]] was held in celebration. Ser [[Lucamore Strong]], the victor of the melee, was rewarded with the white cloak of the [[Kingsguard]].{{ref|FAB|Birth, Death and Betrayal under Jaehaerys I}}

===First uses===
[[File:Balerion and Vhagar napping in the Dragonpit by Jota Saraiva.jpg|right|thumb|400px|[[Balerion]] and [[Vhagar]] napping in the Dragonpit, by Jota Saraiva ©]]
When [[Balerion]] returned to [[Westeros]] in {{Date|56}}, King [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen]] had the dragon confined to the Dragonpit. He also created a new order of seventy-seven warriors, the [[Dragonkeepers]], to guard the royal dragons.{{ref|FAB|Birth, Death and Betrayal under Jaehaerys I}} Three younger dragons were soon housed in the Dragonpit along with Balerion, though Jaehaerys and Queen [[Alysanne Targaryen]] kept their own dragons, [[Vermithor]] and [[Silverwing]], at the Red Keep.{{Ref|FAB|Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies}}

By {{Date|72}}, [[Caraxes]] was considered the fiercest of the young dragons living at the Dragonpit. In {{Date|75}}, Princess [[Alyssa Targaryen]] claimed [[Meleys]] as her mount in the Dragonpit. In {{Date|84}}, Princess [[Saera Targaryen]] attempted to sneak into the Dragonpit, but was caught by the Dragonkeepers and returned to the Red Keep.{{Ref|FAB|The Long Reign - Jaehaerys and Alysanne: Policy, Progeny and Pain}} In {{Date|93}}, Prince [[Viserys I Targaryen|Viserys Targaryen]] claimed Balerion from the Dragonpit.{{Ref|FAB|The Long Reign - Jaehaerys and Alysanne: Policy, Progeny and Pain}}

King Jaehaerys I was cremated in the Dragonpit in {{Date|103}}.{{Ref|FAB|Heirs of the Dragon - A Question of Succession}}

===Dance of the Dragons===
In {{Date|129}} at the start of the [[Dance of the Dragons]], King [[Aegon II Targaryen]] was [[coronation of Aegon II Targaryen|crowned in the Dragonpit]]. According to Grand Maester [[Munkun]], more than a hundred thousand [[smallfolk]] were jammed into the building, while the fool [[Mushroom]] claims the stone benches were only half-filled.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Blacks and the Greens}}

During the [[fall of King's Landing]] to Aegon II's rival, Queen [[Rhaenyra Targaryen]], the dragon [[Sheepstealer]] landed atop of the Dragonpit.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold}}

When Rhaenyra ruled the city, the Dragonpit housed nine dragons: [[Caraxes]], [[Vermithor]], [[Silverwing]], and Sheepstealer, who eventually flew off to battle, and [[Shrykos]], [[Morghul]], [[Tyraxes]], and [[Dreamfyre]]. The Dragonpit became the site of executions of traitors, rebels and murderers. For the price of three pennies, the people of the city were allowed to watch criminals be beheaded and their corpses fed to Rhaenyra's dragons.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}} By {{Date|130}}, it had become the custom that at least one [[dragonrider]] resided in the Dragonpit, to rise to the defense of the city should this be necessary.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}}

Near the end of Rhaenyra's hold over the city, the five dragons that remained in the city were killed during the [[Storming of the Dragonpit]], when tens of thousands of crazed and starving smallfolk led by the [[Shepherd]] stormed the Dragonpit to kill the dragons. All four dragons remaining inside, as well as Rhaenyra's [[Syrax]], were killed in the struggle, as well as thousands of smallfolk. The Dragonpit was reduced to flaming ruins.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown}}

During the [[Moon of the Three Kings]], the Shepherd held sway over tens of thousands of people from the ruins of the Dragonpit. The heads of the five slain dragons were displayed on posts, between which the Shepherd preached every night.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown}} Two days after Lord [[Borros Baratheon]] reclaimed the [[Red Keep]] in the name of Aegon II, the Shepherd was arrested amidst the ruins of the Dragonpit.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II}} After Aegon II returned to the city, he commanded the Dragonpit be restored and rebuilt.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II}}

===Ruined Dragonpit===
Ser [[Tyland Lannister]], the [[Hand of the King]] in the first years of [[Aegon III Targaryen]]'s reign, continued the restoration of the Dragonpit by setting hundreds of stonemasons, carpenters, and builders to work.{{Ref|FAB|Under the Regents - The Hooded Hand}}

By {{Date|133}}, the dragon [[Morning]] had made its lair in the ruined Dragonpit.{{Ref|FAB|Under the Regents - The Voyage of Alyn Oakenfist}}

During the [[Great Spring Sickness]], so many people from King's Landing died so quickly that there was no time to bury the bodies. Instead they were piled up in the Dragonpit, and when the corpses were ten feet deep, the [[Hand of the King]], Lord [[Brynden Rivers]], ordered the [[pyromancer]]s to burn them. The light of the fires shone through the windows, and by night citizens could see the dark green glow of [[wildfire]] all through [[King's Landing]].{{Ref|TSS}}

King [[Aerys II Targaryen]] had [[wildfire]] stored underneath the Dragonpit, as part of his [[wildfire plot]] during [[Robert's Rebellion]].{{Ref|ACOK|49}}

==Recent Events==
===''A Game of Thrones''===
[[File:Franz Miklis thedragonpit closeup.jpg|thumb|400px|right|The ruins of the Dragonpit, by Franz Miklis © Fantasy Flight Games]]
Aboard the ''[[Storm Dancer]]'' as she is about to dock in [[King's Landing]], [[Catelyn Stark]] takes in the view of the capital. Across the city she can see atop [[Rhaenys's Hill]] the blackened walls of the Dragonpit, its huge dome collapsed in ruin.{{ref|AGOT|18}} 

===''A Clash of Kings''===
Some [[whore]]s use the Dragonpit as a place to entertain their customers and one of them, along with their patron, falls through the rotting floor into a cellar. There they find a hidden stash of [[wildfire]], placed by Lord [[Rossart]] during [[Robert's Rebellion]].{{ref|ACOK|49}}

===''A Storm of Swords''===
Aboard the ''[[Balerion (ship)|Balerion]]'', [[Arstan Whitebeard]] tells Queen [[Daenerys Targaryen]] about the Dragonpit.{{Ref|ASOS|8}}

===''A Dance with Dragons''===
In [[Meereen]], just before attempting to steal [[Rhaegal]] and [[Viserion]] from the [[Great Pyramid]], Prince [[Quentyn Martell]] recalls reading that the Dragonpit had restricted the size of [[House Targaryen]]'s dragons.{{ref|ADWD|68}}

==Quotes==
{{Quote|Hardly had the last stone been set on the [[Red Keep]] than [[Maegor I Targaryen|Maegor]] commanded that the ruins of the [[Sept of Remembrance]] be cleared from the top of [[Rhaenys's Hill]], and with them the bones and ashes of the [[Warrior's Sons]] who had perished there. In their place, he decreed, a great stone "stable for [[dragon]]s" would be erected, a lair worthy of [[Balerion]], [[Vhagar]], and their get. Thus commenced the building of the Dragonpit.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}|writings of [[Gyldayn]]}}

{{Quote|The Dragonpit atop the [[hill of Rhaenys]] had been abandoned for a century and a half. He supposed it was as good a place as any to store [[wildfire]], and better than most, but it would have been nice if the late Lord [[Rossart]] had told someone.{{ref|ACOK|49}}|thoughts of [[Tyrion Lannister]]}}

{{Quote|In [[King's Landing]], your ancestors raised an immense domed [[castle]] for their [[dragon]]s. The Dragonpit, it is called. It still stands atop the [[Hill of Rhaenys]], though all in ruins now. That is where the royal dragons dwelt in days of yore, and a cavernous dwelling it was, with [[iron]] doors so wide that thirty [[knight]]s could ride through them abreast. Yet even so, it was noted that none of the pit dragons ever reached the size of their ancestors. The [[maesters]] say it was because of the walls around them, and the great dome above their heads.{{Ref|ASOS|8}}|[[Barristan Selmy|Arstan Whitebeard]] to [[Daenerys Targaryen]]}}

{{Quote|None of the [[dragon]]s bred and raised in the Dragonpit of [[King's Landing]] had ever approached the size of [[Vhagar]] or [[Meraxes]], much less that of the [[Balerion|Black Dread]], King [[Aegon I Targaryen|Aegon's]] monster.{{ref|ADWD|68}}|thoughts of [[Quentyn Martell]]}}

==References==
{{References}}

[[Category:Buildings]]
[[Category:Castles]]
[[Category:Dragons]]
[[Category:House Targaryen]]
[[Category:King's Landing]]
[[Category:Ruins]]

[[es:Pozo Dragón]]
[[fr:Fossedragon]]
[[pt:Fosso dos Dragões]]
[[ru:Драконье Логово]]
[[zh:龙穴]]